Microbial community and antimicrobial resistance in fecal samples from wild and domestic ruminants in Maiella National Park, Italy.

This study aimed to provide new insights about antimicrobial resistance genes abundance and microbial communities of wild and domestic ruminants in wildlife-livestock interface. In total, 88 fecal samples were recovered from Apennine chamois, red deer, goat, cattle and sheep, and were collected in pools. The populations under study were selected based on ecological data useful to define sympatric and non-sympatric populations. Samples were screened for commonly used in farms under study or critically important antimicrobial resistance genes (A2, A, B, K, M, ). The microbial community composition was found to be different based on the species and land use of animals under study. Indeed, it was mostly characterized by phyla in bovine, in chamois and in red deer. Additionally, positive correlations between antibiotic resistance genes and microbial taxa (e.g., genes correlated with and ) were described. Of the antimicrobials investigated, the abundance of gene suggests the importance of monitoring the wildlife in order to detect the emerging resistance genes contamination in environment. This study provides new data that highlight the importance of multidisciplinary and uncultured study in order to describe the spreading of antimicrobial resistance and related contamination in the environment.